CALLS TO ACTION

Contact your MPs to protest now! Canada must support Egypt’s democracy movement, not a dictator!

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has thrown Canada’s support behind embattled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, despite growing pressure in Egypt and around the world for the 82-year old dictator to resign immediately. Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said on February 3 that the Conservative government prefers Mubarak’s plan to step down in September instead of now.

But even the Obama administration in the US believes that Mubarak must resign immediately, in response to nation-wide protests of millions of people in Egypt.

In 2003, Stephen Harper – who was Leader of the Opposition at the time – argued that Canada should join the US-led war in Iraq. Harper was on the wrong side of history then, and he is on the wrong side of history now.

Contact your MPs to protest Canada’s decision to back Mubarak. Canada must support Egypt’s democracy movement, not a hated dictator.

Step 1:

Cut-and-paste the e-mail addresses of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the opposition leaders, the government house leaders, and their deputies into your address line:

End Harper’s support for Mubarak. Canada must back Egypt’s democratic movement.

Step 4:

Cut-and-paste the following message into your message. Feel free to personalize it. Don’t forget to sign your name and address at the end of the message.

Dear Prime Minister Harper:

I am writing to express my opposition to your government’s decision to back the so-called ‘transition’ plan of embattled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, instead of the demand of millions of Egyptians that the 82-year old dictator resign immediately. Even the Obama administration in the US has backed the call for Mubarak to step down now. Canada must support Egypt’s democracy movement, not a hated dictator.

I, therefore, ask you to take the following steps:

– Add Canada’s voice to the growing calls for Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to step down immediately, and not in September

– Freeze the Egyptian government’s assets in Canada until Mubarak’s regime has been replaced

The vast majority of Egyptians want Mubarak to leave now. Canada must not support Mubarak in the name of “stability” in the region. There can be no stability in the region unless all its people, including Egyptians, can live in a truly free and democratic system.

I look forward to your speedy response.

Sincerely,

Your Name

Step 5:

Send.

Step 6:

Forward this e-mail to all your networks, asking them to contact their MPs, too.

Just weeks after a revolution in Tunisia toppled its decades-old dictatorship, a similar movement in Egypt is poised to overthrow the 30-year old regime of Hosni Mubarak. Please join us for a city-wide,

family-friendly rally and march in downtown Toronto in support of the Egyptian people’s struggle for freedom and democracy, and to support all freedom struggles across the region. Please bring your placards, banners, and noise-makers.

(It is also interesting that workers at the major steel plant ezz steel have gone on strike, and that in the textile centre which saw near general strikes a few years ago workers have also launched protests that in Mahalla -the centre of textile production – drew over 200,000. There are also apparently rumblings in the tranport workers about striking the suez canal.)

“Today, representatives of the Egyptian labor movement, made up of the independent Egyptian trade unions of workers in real estate tax collection, the retirees, the technical health professionals and representatives of the important industrial areas in Egypt: Helwan, Mahalla al-Kubra, the tenth of Ramadan city, Sadat City and workers from the various industrial and economic sectors such as: garment & textiles, metals industry, pharmaceuticals, chemical industry, government employees, iron and steel, automotive, etc… agreed to hold a press conference at 3:30pm this afternoon in Tahrir Square next to Omar Effendi Company store in downtown Cairo to announce the organization of the new Federation of Egyptian Trade Unions and to announce the formation of committees in all factories and enterprises to protect, defend them and to set a date for a general strike. And to emphasize that the labor movement is in the heart and soul of the Egyptian Peoples’ revolution and its emphasis on the support for the six requirements as demanded by the Egyptian People’s Revolution. To emphasize the economic and democratic demands voiced by the independent labor movement through thousands of strikes, sit-ins and protests by Egyptian workers in the past years.”

Translation of original in Arabic into English

For more information about the CTUWS, the Centre for Trade Unions and Workers Services, an independent NGO in Egypt, see this Oxfam report:

Tens of thousands of Egyptian workers (men and women) join the Millions Persons demonstration/protest events being organized today in the capital, Cairo, in Alexandria and in other parts of Egypt with the aim of overthrowing the regime.

Meanwhile, the Egyptian Trade Union Federation (ETUF) in Egypt which has always been against workers … the federation which has continued to betray the workers since its creation … the federation has won rigged elections and has always complied with the orders of the Egyptian Secret Service … the federation dares to go out in the darkness of the night to announce that workers support the current regime, this is the same regime that has been effectively overthrown and actually we are waiting for the departure of one who represents it.

We proclaim loudly that we have turned the page away from this ETUF federation that is full of corruption and despotism when we have turned a new page away from the former regime. Egyptian workers, men and women, announced on January 30, 2011, the creation of the founding committee of the Egyptian Federation of Independent Trade Unions, determined to build a federation based on the principles of democracy and an organization that will be managed with full transparency. Our new Federation will defend workers’ rights and will work to improve their living conditions. A democratic federation in a democratic society.

On January 10, the City’s Budget Committee launched the 2011 operating, capital, water and solid waste budgets. This year’s budget process will be completed in less than two months by the end of February – the shortest process in the history of the city – raising serious concerns about the ability of new Councillors and community members to absorb the implications of the budget process and meaningfully participate in the process. Ten rookie Councillors, as well as, members of the Toronto Open Budget Initiative attempted to have the process extended but were unsuccessful.

Last week, Councillors took part in back to back Budget Committee meetings, including one 14-hour session, to review each aspect of the budget. All presentations and analyst notes are available at:

A couple of weeks ago, the City hosted four public hearings on the budget. People who had registered to depute had an opportunity to share their priorities, ideas and concerns. If you had not registered, we encouraged you to come out and observe the process at the public hearings closest to you. Hearings took place on January 19 at the North York and East York Civic Centres, and on January 20 at the Scarborough and York Civic Centres, starting at 6 p.m. The move to the inner suburbs is an important step in increasing access to the political decision-making process. But now there’s no session in the downtown and no daytime hearings. One step forward, two steps back.

In preparation for public deputations, Social Planning Toronto hosted a member forum on January 17 at the 519 Community Centre. Sixty people took part in this informative session to learn more and share their thoughts on the City’s budget and implications for Toronto communities. An offer was extended to the Budget Chief and Budget Committee members to take part in this session. Regrettably these Councillors were unavailable. We were extremely fortunate to have Councillor Shelley Carroll, former Budget Chief, kick off this event with an overview and analysis of the City’s budgets. An excellent panel of speakers followed Councillor Carroll, including John Cartwright (Toronto and York Region Labour Council), Geordie Dent (Federation of Metro Tenants’ Associations), Sonja Greckol (Toronto Women’s
City Alliance), Rob Howarth (Toronto Neighbourhood Centres), Franz Hartmann (Toronto Environmental Alliance), Jane Mercer (Toronto Coalition for Better Child Care), Michael Shapcott (Wellesley Institute), Karen Sun (Chinese Canadian National Council – Toronto Chapter), and Susan Wright (Toronto Arts
Council). Each panelist provided a quick analysis of the budget on specific issues and communities of interest. The event concluded with a question and answer and discussion session with community members. Videos and notes from the session will be uploaded to the SPT website shortly.

We’re happy to report that a number of City Councillors are hosting their own budget information sessions and town halls to inform and engage their constituents in the budget process. Some remaining dates:

* Ward 22 Councillor Community Town Hall Meeting for Midtown Residents on
the City Budget – Councillor Matlow – February 17, 7-9 p.m. at North
Toronto Memorial Community Centre, 200 Eglinton Avenue West.

Some Councillors informed us that they would like to hold a ward meeting but the process is just too rushed. Check with your Councillors to see if they are planning a session.

So what’s up in the budget? SPT staff are monitoring the process and reporting out on highlights from various parts of the budget. Highlights from the proposed budget:

* An end to free recreation programming for adults in Toronto’s 21
Priority Centres to raise $200,000, plus a 3% increase to recreation
user fees
* $100,000 cut to the Tenant Defence Fund including $75,000 cut to
Federation of Metro Tenants’ Association for tenant support services
and $25,000 cut to the fund
* A move to send “reasonably self-sufficient” single adult shelter users
such as refugee claimants to motels or furnished rooms to cut $225,000
from the shelter budget
* A funding cut for nearly 35,000 bednights from family shelters
* Flatlining of funding for community grants to arts and community service
organizations
* Closure of the Urban Affairs Library, moving the collection to the
Toronto Reference Library
* $400,000 cut to the budget for library collections

The Toronto Transit Commission has gone back and forth – first announcing a 10 cent fare hike and cuts to 48 bus routes, then announcing no fare hike and postponement of the decision on bus route cuts until its February 2 meeting.

The budget includes no property tax increases and the elimination of the $60 vehicle registration tax, the latter representing a cost of $64 million to the City.

Quite concerning, the Budget Committee is balancing the budget by depleting several reserve funds including child care reserves that will be in the hole by $1 million by the end of 2012. None of this bodes well for the 2012 budget when severe cuts are expected. Inadequate provincial and federal funding has been a running theme throughout budget discussions.

The Mayor plans to hire an outside consultant to review all of the books and make recommendations on cost cutting for the 2012 budget.

Rod Ford’s Budget Committee is right now working out the details of the opening round of his attack on poor and working people in this City. Ford campaigned on the basis of stopping the ‘gravy train’ at City Hall, but his Budget plans show how exactly he defines ‘gravy’.

The proposed cuts are real and they are deep- this is the information we have managed to gather so far, but can imagine are only the tip of the iceberg.

OCAP is calling on communities to confront Ford and his budget plans at all public consultations this week, and also COME OUT on February 10th for a People’s Delegation at the final meeting of the Budget Committee to bring our anger and our demands directly to them.

Gathering with food following rally & march (6:30-8pm); a bus will be available to transport participants to the gathering.

TTC tokens will be available for those attending by public transit.

According to research conducted under the Native Women Association of Canada’s (NWAC) Sisters in Spirit project, over 580 Indigenous women have been murdered or gone missing, most of them over the last 30 years. Despite the clear evidence that this is an ongoing issue, the federal government decided in Fall of 2010 to end funding to Sisters in Spirit. In a move to detract attention from this cut, Rona Ambrose announced a $10 million fund to be put primarily towards creating a central RCMP missing person centre. It is evident that few of those in power have a genuine interest in ending the violence against Indigenous women. On February 14th, we come together in solidarity with the women who started this vigil in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, and with the marches and rallies that will be taking place across this land. We stand in defense of our lives and to demonstrate against the complicity of the state in the ongoing genocide of Indigenous women and the impunity of state institutions and actors (police, RCMP, coroners’ offices, the courts, and an indifferent federal government) that prevents justice for all Indigenous Peoples.

This event is organized by No More Silence, part of an inter/national network to support the work being done by activists, academics, researchers, agencies and communities to stop the murders and disappearances of Indigenous women.

Besides the Toronto rally, marches and other events will take place in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, London (Ontario), and Ottawa.

Endorsed by: Sistering, The Women and Gender Studies Institute (University of Toronto), No One is Illegal Toronto.

Halper is an Israeli author and speaker about non-violent strategies to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He is a co-founder of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD). Jeff was on board the first boat to Gaza which successfully sailed through the naval blockade, docking on the shores of Gaza in 2008.

Please join us for this Canadian Boat to Gaza/ICAHD fundraiser where Jeff Halper will speak on the importance of the flotillas that travel to Gaza by sea to break Israel’s illegal stranglehold on1.5 million Palestinian civilians.

In five open study sessions, “Extracting Profits” will discuss patterns of oppression and resistance in Latin America and the Caribbean. The sessions, held from February to May, include readings, brief presentations, and small-group discussions in an informal and spontaneous atmosphere. No registration – everyone welcome.

FIRST SESSION. February 6: Mexico and the Burden of “Free Trade”: NAFTA, capitalist devastation, and community resistance

Class Struggle and the Body: Anti-Capitalism, Disability and Injured Workers

Friday February 11, 2011

7:30 PM

Regal Beagle Pub, 335 Bloor St West, Toronto

On Feb 11, the Greater Toronto Workers’ Assembly will be holding another one of our coffeehouse discussions at the Regal Beagle. This time, with two speakers from DAMN 2025 and a labour activist working around the important and nearly invisible issue of the fate of injured workers, we will be discussing concrete strategies for the class struggle and accessibility that incorporate the unique predicament of members of the working class who are not able bodied. Bringing together social movement and labour activists, this should be another interesting and unique discussion.

Speakers:

* Andrew Mindszenthy (DAMN 2025)

* Jeff Peters (DAMN 2025)

* Nick DeCarlo (Canadian Auto Workers)

Moderated by: Ameilia Murphy Beaudoin (OPSEU)

* * * * *

2.5

ECONOMIC RECESSION, CLIMATE CHANGE & WAR: HOW CAN WE MAKE SENSE OF A WORLD IN TURMOIL?

A One-Day Conference

Sunday, February 6, 11am

Bahen Centre

40 St. George Street

Cost: $10 or pay what you can

11:00am Registration

11:30-12:30pm Opening plenary:

Economic recession, climate change and war: how can we make sense of a world in turmoil?

“A warts-and-all portrait of a singer and his celebrity, Phil Ochs: There but for Fortune is an overdue look at the 60s folk movement’s anti-Dylan — a songwriter who almost singlehandedly launched the pop-musical protest against the Vietnam War, but whose early death had the tragic cast of a 19th-century ballad. Briskly constructed and rich in Ochs’ music and period notables, Kenneth Bowser’s film will be a must for the artist’s fans, but its fresh take on an overexamined decade should also appeal to Kennedy-era completists. Like any singer-songwriter defined by the Greenwich Village-based folk scene of the early ’60s, Ochs could not — and still cannot — escape the shadow of Bob Dylan. Indeed, it’s the contrast with Dylan (the one essential figure missing from the film) that best defines Ochs himself: Whereas Dylan was the songwriter-as-poet, Ochs was the troubadour/journalist, delivering metaphor-free reports on current events.”—John Anderson, Variety.

TORONTO PREMIERE!

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ARTICLES

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3.1

Like We Said, It’s a Global Slump

By David McNally, Bullet No. 454, January 14 2011

I have never accepted the postmodernist contention that contemporary capitalism is all about smoke and mirrors. The notion that ideology and illusion make the system go round strikes me as another mode of reductionism – this one based on culture rather than, say, economics. But it must be said that, at first blush, the mainstream business media certainly offers some sustenance for the smoke and mirrors thesis.

Popular upheavals always carry a distinct sonic resonance. The cascading chants that reverberate through the streets, the roar of the crowd as it drives back the riot police and seizes the city square – all this and more produces an unmistakable acoustic effect. The rhythm of revolt pulsates through society, freedom music fills the air.

Arab uprisings are taking place with the historical speed of light. I began writing this piece following the downfall of Tunisian dictator Ben Ali and closed with the imminent downfall of the Egyptian one Hosni Mubarak. The Tunisian and Egyptian uprisings are not, as some armchair pundits called the Tunisian one, Jasmine Revolutions. They are ones of bread, bullets, blood, democracy and dignity. State security forces have killed hundreds of people in both countries and wounded thousands. Many more have been arrested. But the fire of revolt sparked by Muhammad Bouzizi’s self-immolation in Tunis last December has now turned into a conflagration of popular upheaval across the Arab world largely led by workers, students, and the unemployed (men and women). Current protests in Egypt have reached a new crescendo. Other demonstrations in Yemen, Algeria and Jordan are far from turning the tables on their regimes but continue to exert pressure against the status quo. Large disaffected sections of an emaciated middle-class of professionals, public servants, and petit-bourgeois have also jumped on the revolutionary bandwagon.

The Great Recession will take a long time to come to an end. Even the most optimistic forecasters expect the official unemployment rate in the U.S. to stay above 9 per cent through 2011, and it may be 4 or even more years before we get back to the same level of employment we had before the recession began. The arguments I want to make are (1) that we should not fall for the line that “we,” i.e. workers, need to cut back to get out of this recession and (2) that propaganda about the problems of the deficits is being used to justify a multi-pronged attack on the standard of living of working families.

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Please Note: All events and announcements above are listed as a service to our members and friends. Unless specifically stated, CSJ does not necessarily endorse these events.

SOCIALIST REGISTER 2011: The Crisis This Time and David McNally’s GLOBAL SLUMP The Economics and Politics of Crisis and Resistance

Thursday January 20, 2011

7 PM

Lula Lounge,

1585 Dundas St. West, Toronto.

David McNally will speak and there will be a panel discussion with local SR contributors:

Greg Albo, Bryan Evans, Sam Gindin and Leo Panitch.

Doors open at 6pm, dinner and drinks available.

Sponsored by: York University Book Store, Fernwood Books, the Socialist Project, the Socialist Register and PM Press.

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Matlow was trying to silence the Federation of Metro Tenants’ Associations voice well beyond what most people think.

If his motion had passed it would have tied the Federation’s funding to be silent on policy issues also so that we could not have criticized the provincial Liberals of which Matlow is a member for lying about bringing back real rent controls and other antitenant policies of the Liberals.

On February 24th, 2011 City Council passed the new budget for the City, including a cut to the Tenant Defense Fund of $100,000 a fund that provides essential services to poor tenants. $25,000 was cut from the grant money that tenants can access in order to challenge above guideline rent increases, demolitions, and conversions, and $75 000 was cut from the tenant education and support services offered by the FMTA. The cuts will result in a reduction in services provided by each branch of the FMTA, that is, the Tenant Hotline, the Outreach and Organizing Team, and the Tenant Education Project.

Of the 45 city councilors, 23 supported the heartless cuts while 22 voted to keep the funding for providing these necessary city services.

Make sure if your councillor was part of this attack on tenants than your neighbors know about this.

Contact the enemies of tenants and get your friends to do the same to let them and their people know we won’t put up with this attack on the poor. You can find the contact info on these slimy politicians here http://app.toronto.ca/im/council/councillors.jsp

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First they came…

First they came for the communists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me.

~Pastor Martin Niemöller

Disclaimer

Most of the things I post are things I have found -not my original work- many of which have (OT) in the title which I use to indicate that this is the original title that I found it under. If I write it, I sign it.

Area 51 Engineer Bob Lazar’s Hydrogen Powered Corvette

To view on YouTube click "Area 51 Engin..." at the top.

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